


He Lives In You

by DraconicMusic



Category: Rockman X | Mega Man X
Genre: Angst, Brief mentions of blood/gore, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Grief/Mourning, Hopeful Ending, Hugs, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, but nothing too graphic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-10
Updated: 2020-09-10
Packaged: 2021-03-07 02:40:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 759
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26389585
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DraconicMusic/pseuds/DraconicMusic
Summary: Ever since the incident with Red Alert, Axl had tried to keep his unpleasant memories of the organization at the back of his mind. During a mission, however, he encounters something that causes them to flood back, and he breaks down.Because this is all so, so wrong.This never should have happened, yet it did.
Relationships: Axl & X (Rockman)
Comments: 3
Kudos: 16





	He Lives In You

**Author's Note:**

> Hey, it's been a while. If you're wondering why I haven't posted anything for a month, I just didn't have the motivation to write anything at all, and I've been drawing a lot as of late. Anyway, this fic originally started out as a bit of a vent fic yesterday and was going to be shorter, but it ended up being longer instead. I decided to focus on the grief Axl was feeling following the events of Mega Man X7, because, let's be real here, someone (especially someone young like Axl) having to kill their own family would definitely be traumatizing. With that being said, hope you like this story.
> 
> Also, this fic was partially named after "He Lives In You" by Lebo M. It the song doesn't necessarily match up in tone with this story, but I thought the title seemed fitting for this story.
> 
> And a bit of a fun fact: This story was partially inspired by a My Little Pony comic dub I discovered on YouTube years ago, but I don’t remember the name of it. I’ll link it once I do manage to find it again.

This was supposed to be just a normal mission.

Yet, here Axl was, standing in front of the rubble that was once the Crimson Palace. However, there was a reason for why he was.

Since the incident with Red Alert, Axl had tried to keep his traumatic memories of the group, along with their now fallen leader, Red, in the back of his head. But even then, such memories would creep into the young hunter’s nightmares. 

Such nightmares often consisted of every member from Red Alert wailing at Axl, crying why they could not be saved. Some nights, however, Axl would occasionally have nightmares of Red slashing him open as punishment for failing to save him from the Crimson Tower’s collapse, causing the gunslinger’s blood to splatter onto the ground, Axl’s eyes filled with shock and betrayal as he looked up pleadingly to Red, his vision going dark. 

Every time Axl had these nightmares, he would awake in a panic, sometimes even screaming in terror, before breaking down into tears, the shame of what he had done to his friends flooding back to him.

Seeing his former, friends… no, his family, die at his own hands haunted Axl ever since, especially the death of Red. Out of all the other members of Red Alert, Red’s death affected Axl the most. Axl had always looked up to Red as a mentor, and despite Red’s rough demeanor, he cared for the kid deep down.

Axl and Red would have lived happily together along with the others, had it not been for Red Alert to fall victim to Sigma’s control. After the events that unfolded, X slowly realized how much of a family Red Alert was to Axl, and he had tried his very best to give him a home, someplace he would feel he belonged to.

When Axl, X and Zero were sent on a mission to the same area where the Crimson Palace collapsed, Axl tried not to let the memories of Red Alert bother him. When he discovered the remains of Red within the rubble, however, the memories came flooding back, and the young hunter broke down.

Now, Axl is still grieving, tears flowing down his face, creating small stains on his armor, which were quickly washed away by the pouring rain.

“Axl,” Zero spoke, after several moments of silence, except for the stifled sobs and hiccups from Axl. “We need to go back to base.”

“No!” Axl turned around to face Zero and shouted, louder than he intended. When Axl turned to look at Zero, the Crimson Hunter saw just how upset he was. Axl’s eyes were slightly red from crying, and had an unmistakable glimmer of pain and heartbreak in them.

“I want to stay here…”

“Axl…” Zero repeated, unsure of how to respond. He didn’t fully understand just how much Red meant to Axl, so he was at a loss for what to do.

Axl slowly turned away again, but as soon as he does, X walks up behind him. The blue Reploid gently places a hand on Axl’s shoulder, startling the younger hunter a little. Axl turns his body around a little to look at X.

“Axl…” X began, sympathy displaying on his face. “I understand that you miss Red very much. But you can’t change the past.”

Axl looked down sadly. “I-I know… But still, I could’ve done something, I could’ve-“

“Axl, listen.” Axl’s words were cut off when X began to speak again, in a tone meant to be gentle. “Even if Red is no longer here, his spirit still lives within you. No matter where you go, Red will always be with you.”

Axl looked down at the scythe once owned by Red he held in his hand, before looking back up at X. “R-Really?” He asked, his eyes still brimming with tears.

X smiled warmly and genuinely. “Of course, Axl. And even if you don’t have Red, you still have us.”

Tears began to fall from Axl’s face again, and he ran up and embraced X, surprising the blue Reploid, but he nonetheless returned the young hunter’s embrace.

“T-Thanks, guys…” Axl hiccuped, a small smile on his face. “That means a lot to me…”

X smiled, rubbing Axl’s back to comfort him. He briefly looked back at Zero, who had a small smile on his face as well.

From hearing X’s words, and knowing that Red would always live within him, Axl felt everything would be alright. And with X and Zero around, he knew that hope will never fade away.


End file.
